WOMEN OF CHRISTMAS - SARAH - NAME THE BABY "HE LAUGHS"

SARAH – NAME THE BABY “HE LAUGHS”

Abraham was sitting at the entrance of his tent one day under some oak trees when three visitors appeared. He invited them to rest and share a meal. It is not stated that he immediately knew them to be the Angel of the Lord (a theophany of Jesus) and two angels, but his behavior and the prophecy given suggest this to be the case. He had Sarah prepare bread and a servant prepare a calf.

Genesis 18:9 And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent.

Because of modesty and dignity, Sarah had remained inside the tent instead of coming out among the men. Her respect for her husband is demonstrated in her modesty.

1 Peter 3:6 (VOICE) Consider how Sarah, our mother, obeyed her husband, Abraham, and called him “lord,” and you will be her daughters as long as you boldly do what is right without fear and without anxiety.

Note that Peter referred to Sarah as “our mother” recognizing her role as the matriarch of Israel. Isaiah recognized Sarah as Israel’s matriarch as well

Isaiah 51:2 (KJV) Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him.

Genesis 18:10 And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.

This heavenly visitor was reiterating what the Lord had already told Abraham. It is not clear whether or not Abraham had communicated to his wife God’s earlier promise to him that Sarah would bear a son. This may have been the first she heard of it while listening from the entrance of the tent. God gave Sarah a specific date that Isaac would be born. He is not only sovereign over her barren womb but over the timing of the birth. Likewise, we are told that Esther became queen “for such a time as this” which we will study God’s sovereignty in that later in this study. And Mary bore Jesus “in the fullness of time.” We will get into the specifics of what that meant when we get to Mary in our study. Right now, the point is that timing is everything, and God is in control of the times.  

Esther 4:14b (KJV) …and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?

Galatians 4:3-5 (KJV) Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: 4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

Genesis 18:11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?

As did Abraham before her, Sarah cracked up laughing at the prospect of two elderly people, way passed the age of reproduction, having a baby together. It seemed absurd to her. They knew how things worked even though they did not study it in science/health class as we did.

Genesis 18:13 And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.

The Lord asked Abraham why Sarah laughed but did not wait for an answer. He asked, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” Then He let them know He would be back, and they would see the power of the Lord manifest in their old bodies, seemingly past the age of reproduction. By the time He came back, Isaac would have been born.

Genesis 18:15 Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.

Sarah tried to deny the fact that she had laughed, but the Lord knows our hearts. He confirmed that she did laugh. We cannot hide our feelings from God. God did not discount the covenant due to their laughter.

How does this apply to me?

Have you ever felt the Lord was asking you to do something absurd? Something like going to college for eight years in a power chair and training your own caregivers? (Susan) Or becoming a ministry partner and caregiver for someone you had known less than a year? (Susie) Sometimes it seems God is asking us to do the impossible or in the least, the improbable. But if you are certain the Lord is calling you to serve Him in a specific way, laugh if you want but go forward boldly. In His timing, you will see His glory when you rely on His grace and power.